5 Things *I Wish I Knew* Before Moving to New York

After 3 weeks of very mixed emotions, things are finally looking up. We’ve just moved into our new apartment and I am slowly but surely finding my feet. New York is one tough nut to crack, every set of “pinch-me” moments come with their fair share of feeling as though the city has chewed you up and spat you back out.

It was always going to be impossible to be fully prepared before emigrating, but there’s just a few things that (in my opinion) would be really useful for anyone who’s moving or thinking about coming over here to know. 

Cash

Setting up a bank account takes time, so when you have to pay the (inevitably) massive amount of money to secure an apartment, you’re going to need cold, hard cash. There’s a limit on how much you can withdraw from your Irish account on a daily basis, so be prepared with the big bucks!

Timing

This isn’t as important, but I’m quite impatient and like to get things done as efficiently as possible. Naturally, the 1st of the month is when everyone moves around and apartments are more available. Arriving around a week before this date is probably a safe bet if you want to settle in quickly. We arrived on the 15th so we just felt a little bit in limbo until we got sorted.

Shoes

You know those comfy shoes that you basically live in? Well, they won’t be so comfy after endless hours of running around apartment hunting. Always be prepared with plasters, always!!!

Tiredness

That never-ending tiredness will literally never leave you. Take a second now to appreciate the silence around you, because in NY, there’s a 24/7 hum! That being said, the buzz of the city is a contagious energy that makes you want to jump out of bed and attack the day.

Networking

To be fair, I had already been advised to network as much as possible prior to making the move. I genuinely had no idea how important it would be. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” could not be more applicable to this city. You can apply to 1,000 jobs on indeed.com with a glowing resume, but at the end of the day it could be the person that you least expect who will get you a job. It seemed so foreign to me at first, but you need to be brazen over here to get where you want. Send the emails and make all of the awkward phone calls, because you never know who will put you in contact with the person who holds the ticket to your dream job! And even if you just want to reach out to someone to get more information then do it. I got in touch with Erika, Lorna & Michaela while barely knowing them and each of them were more helpful than I could have hoped for. I sadly came here without any of my friends so having girls like these here is making the world of difference!

If anyone has any questions or is thinking of making the move please get in touch, I would love to help! Most of the photos below are from my Instagram (niamh_osullivan) & Snapchat (niamhos21) so be sure to follow along! 🙂

Niamh x